A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.

[T]here are the two other posts I wrote especially for Kunstler's readers that were built around New York Times articles. Both of them discuss Detroit as a tourist destination, a topic I return to occasionally.

The first of those two entries is obviously The Buzz about Detroit for the week ending May 28, 2011 from Model D Media posted on May 30, 2011, which was in 6th place a year ago with between 311 and 360 views. I'm vague because the viewership stats are on my old computer and I didn't think to copy them down when I got my new tower. Right now, the post sits in ninth place with 355 page views.

I decided to cover something more hopeful at CRAZY EDDIE'S MOTIE NEWS: a New York Times story about how Detroiters who are concerned about sustainability are reaching a consensus that food, particularly urban agriculture, is central to the future of the city. The future the foodies the author talked to reads like Detroit is already working on "A World Made by Hand." I have a link to the N.Y. Times article in the blog article.

I also note that Hipsters have found Detroit an "inhabitable city." The brewers of Pabst Blue Ribbon will be thrilled to have another market. Also the Nain Rouge, Detroit's own Red Dwarf and local ill omen, has hit the big time among devotees of the paranormal. Yes, even Detroit's demons are becoming cool. Just hope you never see the Nain Rouge. He's a harbinger of disaster.

That's a pretty good summary of the entry, especially considering that I wrote it on the fly as I do most of my comments over at Kunstler's blog.

Speaking of Detroit, the place is figuring out what to do next and how to thrive in the middle of being the largest municipality aware that it is managing contraction (Chicago has been contracting over the past few decades and has 25% fewer people than at its peak, but it doesn't seem to have any awareness that it's been managing contraction). Last week, I posted about how growing food is becoming central to the future and identity of Detroit. This week, I found that art and culture might fill the number two spot in the future identity of Detroit. The resulting spectacle has attracted the attention of the adventurous in New York and London. I documented the reaction in DETROIT AS A TRAVEL DESTINATION? THE NEW YORK TIMES, BBC, AND FINANCIAL TIMES THINK SO. Yes, Detroit, Ground Zero of the post-industrial future, is now a place for the cutting-edge tourist who wants to see art, agriculture, and grand ruins, exactly what one would expect in "A World Made by Hand."

This entry has the distinction of being the first entry I tagged with the tourism label. I've had a lot of use for that label since.